Simon's Place: Stories of the Benson Hotel. Dieser Artikel ist nicht verfügbar.Simon's Place: Stories of the Benson Hotel

Why write a book about my memories of the Benson Hotel? Why not? Over six years of my life was devoted to making sure the Benson Hotel was safe and survived another day, and I was dedicated to doing my best to make sure that happened. Few people are privileged enough to watch the rich and famous when they are out of town and their public is not watching. This included people like Bill Cosby romancing two young girls who appeared underage, plying them with whisky in the lobby lounge and then helping them up to his room via the elevator. This included the musical legend Bob Dylan, who I thought looked like a homeless man in need of a shower. Or the notoriously cranky Waylon Jennings with his black-clad 'good ole boy' security team rivaling that of any US president. They spent their time glaring at people, and avoiding the restaurants --- ordering only room service for all their meals. We at the Benson Were glad when they left. There was the gracious Ella Fitzgerald in the lobby, wearing her comfortable house-slippers, greeting people and talking to them with her typical warmth and heart. There was the spider-like man unfolding himself out of the elevator, Kareem Abdul Jabar, the famous basketball player, always looking like he was in need of a few good meals. There was the adorable singer Gladys Knight, who was barely five feet tall, and how she bragged to a friend about where she was staying, as I stood nearby. "I'm at the Benson of course!" she giggled into the telephone receiver, smiling over at me. Don DuPay

Don DuPay is a longtime writer, and philosopher of life. He was born in Wenatchee, Washington where he spent most of his childhood, later moving to Montana where his parents bought and sold a farm. He settled in Portland, Oregon in 1947 at the age of eleven. DuPay graduated from Grant High School in 1954 where he was an honor student. After high school, DuPay attended Lewis and Clark College for two years before joining the US Navy where he performed top secret radio surveillance on the Baltic Sea, rising to the rank of Cryptographic Technician T-branch E-6. After his Navy service during the Cold War, DuPay joined the Portland Police Bureau in 1961 where he sought to "make the world a better place by putting bad guys in jail." He rose to the rank of detective in 1967 at the age of 31, and was later promoted to homicide detective in the 1970s. DuPay eventually resigned from PPB in 1978 under the suggestion of his doctor, who was a close friend. He resigned for documented medical reasons, which included high blood pressure, depression and a bleeding ulcer. In 1980 DuPay became the director of security for the Benson Hotel for several years in the early to middle 1980s. While at the Benson, DuPay was instrumental in changing hotel safety policies that would ensure better safety for customers and for the actual building itself, taking care of fire code violations that had been ignored for decades. In 2017, DuPay finished his college education, graduating from Portland State University with a liberal arts degree. He was honored in the commencement program for being the "oldest" graduate of that year. DuPay resides in Portland, Oregon with his wife, author, poet and editor, Theresa Griffin Kennedy, who along with DuPay is a native Portlander.